Tottenham battle Lyon for Dinamo Zagreb defender Dejan Lovren

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp insists he will not be overly active in the transfer market this month but, if he can ship players out to raise funds, a move for Lovren is on the cards this month.

Zagreb's executive director Zdravko Mamic has admitted that the race is on between Spurs and Lyon, although there may be fears he is merely trying to obtain the highest sum for the centre-back, says the News of the World.

A bid of 10million euros would be enough to land the Croatia international, who would be likely to earn a work permit on appeal because he is such an outstanding prospect - even if he does only have two caps to his name at present.